LAS VEGAS, July 23 (UPI) -- A Las Vegas police officer was killed when he fell off a cliff trying to rescue a stranded hiker, the department said.
KLAS-TV, Las Vegas, identified the police officer as David Vanbuskirk, a 35-year-old married father of three. An Army veteran, Vanbuskirk had been a member of the department's search-and-rescue operation for three years.
The department received a 911 call Monday from a hiker stranded on a remote part of Mount Charleston. The department responded and about 8:50 p.m. Vanbuskirk was lowered to the hiker's location just above Mary Jane Falls. Vanbuskirk became separated from the hiker and fell off a cliff, KTNV-TV, Las Vegas, reported.
The hiker was not injured in the rescue.
The National Transportation Safety Board, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Las Vegas police department will investigate the incident, KTNV said.
